It was the ability of moose to grow new antlers after shedding that first sparked Nicholas Leigh’s interest in regenerative research. For practical reasons, the choice fell on smaller animals, in his case salamanders.
"We humans can also regenerate tissue, for example when a bone fracture is healed. During pregnancy, foetuses can heal a damaged heart, and young children can actually recreate a fingertip, including fingerprints and nail, in the event of an injury. However, we lose these regenerative abilities as we get older."
Nicholas Leigh is a senior lecturer and researcher in regenerative immunology. In Sweden, only a few research groups in the field study salamanders. One challenge is that it takes many years before they reach reproductive age, which prolongs the research process because it takes a long time to collect enough data. Until recently, the genome of salamanders, which is up to ten times that of humans, had not been mapped. Despite salamanders’ long lifespan and enormous genome, which could mean a higher risk of mutations, they very rarely develop cancer. This makes them interesting from a research perspective:
If you block the genes that inhibit tumour development in human cells, the cells begin to divide uncontrollably, and tumours arise. However, in salamanders, it appears that they have fewer of these tumour-inhibiting genes. Even so, there are genes that promote healing and allow the regeneration of tissue.
By studying the cells that control the regeneration of salamanders and how genes are turned on and off, Nicholas Leigh can compare with what happens in human cells when tumour cells develop.
"In this way, we hope to be able to find a kind of ‘shutdown button’ for cancer."